by Anna Lowe
He instantly imagined Jenna calling him over and patting the spot next to her. She’d hand him a lemonade with a swirly straw and smile the way only she could.
That couch that hadn’t even been built yet, but what the heck. Just dreaming about it felt good.
“…And you could finish up with the sunset here,” Jenna concluded, spreading her arms wide as wings.
We could teach her to fly, you know, his dragon said.
He held back a snort. That meant mating with Jenna, and he had no idea if she wanted that.
But if we did mate…
No matter how he tried to reel in such thoughts, they ran away from him. If Jenna did let him claim her with a mating bite, she would become a dragon shifter too. They could fly into the sunset together, swoop around a few times, and land back right here. They could start and end every day together and settle into the kind of easy rhythm his soul yearned for.
Home, his dragon whispered. We could finally feel at home.
Jenna took his hand and looked out over the sparkling sea. Was she thinking the same thing? She took a deep breath, not giving away a thing. But when she turned to him, her eyes were as sparkly as the sea.
They both moved at the same time — her looping her arms around his neck, him taking firm hold of her waist. When their lips met, his pulse skipped and warmed.
“Only one thing missing from this tour,” Jenna whispered between kisses.
“What’s that?” he whispered, tilting her head to one side to kiss deeper.
Her lips danced over his, going from playful to hungry in the space of a few heartbeats.
“A bed. Or don’t dragons need those?”
He slid his hands over her rear, pressing her hips against his. “Dragons, no,” he whispered, pushing back a stray lock of hair, then covering her mouth with his before forcing himself to finish the sentence. “Humans, yes. Right over there.”
“Over where?” Her voice was husky, though her eyes didn’t leave his.
His dragon side was ready to pick her up and carry her to that section of the patio, but he forced himself to release her and lead the way.
“There — the bed.”
He motioned to a platform built above the natural stone, curtained off on three sides like a room. Well, it was, in his imagination. Right now, it was just a big four-poster bed set in the middle of an open platform, sheltered by the natural roof. “Give me one second. I’ll be right there.”
“You need a second? For what?”
“It’ll be worth it. I promise.”
She folded her arms and tapped her foot impatiently. “Let me guess. Mood music? Lava lamps?”
He chuckled and stepped to a dim corner where the cliff wall sloped down. “Better than that.”
There’d been a lot of junk around the place when he discovered it, and he’d stacked the old boxes and pallets to one side. Not the nicest kind of wood for a fire, but somehow, it seemed important to light one just now. Jenna would think him crazy, so he did his best to explain as he set it up in a circle of rocks.
“My grandmother — my mother’s mother — was born in Switzerland,” he said in response to Jenna’s unspoken question. “Yeah, there used to be bears and bear shifters there.”
“Wait — bears?” Jenna asked as she slipped off her shoes.
He did his best to keep his eyes on the wood and not on those amazing legs. “Yeah, bears. My mother’s side of the family is all bear shifters. But my father was a myriad shifter who could change into different forms…”
“Neat,” Jenna murmured, looking at him with dreamy eyes.
If only she knew about not fitting in. “Anyway, my grandmother used to tell us all kinds of stories about old times back there.”
“What kinds of stories?” Jenna asked, leaning back on the bed.
He stacked the wood in a teepee shape, setting smaller bits of kindling between the bigger pieces. “They had all kinds of old customs, and the one she kept up had something to do with an end-of-winter ritual.”
Jenna, to her credit, didn’t bolt at the word ritual. On the contrary, she seemed to hang on every word. Of course, the starry backdrop and grayscale palette of night over the ocean helped set the mood.
“They would build big bonfires, and some people would dress up in ugly masks. Then they’d go around and make a ruckus, scaring the bad spirits away.”
“Bad spirits, huh?”
He almost didn’t dare look at her, but he had to check if she understood. He didn’t want to dwell on Draig, vampires, or any other form of evil tonight. But he sure as hell wasn’t going to spend a night with Jenna without a few precautions, even if they were the superstitious kind.
“Yeah. Scare them all away,” he murmured into the wind. “Make sure they left everyone alone.”
Jenna didn’t say anything for a second, but then she nodded. “So, light that sucker up and come to bed.”
How she managed to mix sweet, sultry, and innocent together, he had no clue. Only that he’d never met a woman anything like her before.
“Need a match?” she asked when he hesitated.
“Match is the slow way.”
“What’s the fast way?”
He motioned to his chest and gave a little cough, wondering how she would react. “Dragon, remember?”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Holy crap. You must have the best party tricks.”
His laugh echoed into the night. “I can use a match if you want.”
She shook her head and leaned forward, resting her chin on her elbows. “This, I have to see.”
His nostrils flared as he considered. Maybe this wasn’t the best idea. Stunts like this got him in trouble every time.
“What are you waiting for?”
“Trying to think before I act,” he admitted.
Jenna waved the notion away. “Now what fun is that?”
He grinned then leaned back, huffed a few times, and released just enough of his dragon side to spit fire. Just a small, foot-long flame, enough to get the bonfire crackling. But for a brief instant, his teeth extended and his jaw hung wide, giving Jenna a glimpse of the first stage of a shift.
That part, he hadn’t been counting on, and he looked up, worried at how she would react.
Her eyes were wide, and her hands clutched the sheets. Her mouth popped open, but she didn’t say a word — at first. Then she pushed her lower lip out, exhaled, and murmured, “Cool.”
He stared. Was she really okay with the dragon part?
She crooked a finger, beckoning him closer. “You know, that is a dangerous move.”
He stepped away from the fire, closing the distance between them fast. “In what way?”
She leaned back on her elbows, leaving just enough space between her knees for him to step into. “That’s a hard act to follow. What if you don’t live up to expectations?”
He leaned over her, feeling every inch a powerful dragon, even though he kept that body safely locked away. Behind them, the bonfire crackled higher, egging him on.
He came down on his elbows, making her sink back into the mattress. “I promise not to let you down.”
He meant it in more ways than one, and his dragon quietly made a vow. To pleasure her. To protect her. To make her proud.
She grinned and scooted back, reaching for his shirt at the same time. The second she got it over his head, he came down with a hard, open kiss that made her whimper. Within seconds, she was writhing and panting for more.
“Yes,” she moaned as his hands swept over her glorious body. “Yes…”
Chapter Twenty
Jenna’s mind filled with a thousand lights, and her body surged with need. Connor hadn’t just lit a bonfire on the rock ledge. He’d kindled one inside her too, and she couldn’t get enough of him. Her hands were everywhere at once, touching all the muscles that had been taboo. His thick shoulders, his iron-hard chest. The dragon tattoo inked into his upper arm, and the Special Forces one hidden beneath. The checkerboard of
his stomach made a maze for her fingers to trace. His ass was all coiled power, too, and she yearned to feel him moving inside her.
“Connor…never…” she mumbled in desperate pants.
He stopped instantly and held himself an inch above her, rock hard. “Never?”
She shook her head, because that sounded all wrong, but she couldn’t get her tongue in the right place to speak. “I’ve never wanted anyone as much as I want you. Never needed it this bad,” she panted.
His eyes burned into hers. “Neither have I. Neither have I.”
Which said a lot, because he certainly had more experience than her. Not that it was her first time, but somehow, it felt like a first all the same. A first. A last. An only, or so her soul hoped — that she’d get to stay with this remarkable man for a long, long time. Living. Learning. Loving.
“Oh,” she gasped as his right hand swept along her ribs and cupped her breast. He dipped lower and kissed her there, too, first through her shirt and bra, and then—
With one quick rip, those barriers were gone, and he dove back down on bare skin. Scooping her soft flesh with one hand and kissing at the same time. Kneading, pinching, and sucking until she couldn’t see straight.
She plowed her hands through his thick hair, arching her back. And when he switched from one side to the other, she cried out again.
“So good…”
Which had to be obvious, but she couldn’t help it. She couldn’t help winding her leg around his either, or grinding her hips against his thick, hard cock. When Connor broke away and sat up, his eyes glowed.
“Not too fast?” he asked in a low rumble that made her blood surge. She’d barely shaken her head when he grunted, “Good,” and moved her up the bed in one smooth move.
Apparently, dragons liked it fast and hard. Which proved once again what a perfect match they were. She wiggled and lifted her hips, helping him strip her to the skin.
“And now this,” he murmured, reaching for the knife she still had strapped to her calf.
It was fun, holding her leg out and letting him take it off. But the best part was lying back once she was totally naked to bask under his gaze. Connor sat back on his heels, poised over her, his mouth open, his eyes glowing.
“So beautiful…” His chest heaved up and down.
Her chest was heaving too, and she couldn’t help but circle her own breasts while he watched. She bent her knees outward, and when Connor looked down, she felt the heat of his gaze on her, as hot and insistent as a hand.
“All yours, my love,” she murmured, unabashed. The words came from out of nowhere, yet felt natural on her tongue. Like she hadn’t just found her true love but rediscovered him.
Connor trailed a line of burning kisses over her abdomen, then pushed both hands under her ass like a shovel, raising her off the bed. When he dipped out of sight to kiss her, every nerve in her body exploded at once, and she arched back.
“Yes…”
His tongue was hot and insistent, and what it didn’t reach, his fingers did. She clutched the sheets and dug her heels into the mattress, opening every inch of herself to him. His stubble scratched her inner thighs, and his fingers gripped her like a vise. He made pleased little muttering sounds as he explored, and she pictured a dragon admiring his treasure. Stroking gold coins, fingering long, silver chains. Holding precious goblets up to the sun. But it was even better than that, because she was that treasure, that precious possession. That home he’d come back to again and again.
Her body shuddered when she came for the first — and second — time, but Connor didn’t let up one bit. The few times she peeked, the glow of the bonfire reflected off his glistening shoulders, giving his skin an orange glow. She turned her head just far enough to train her unfocused eyes on the fire, watching the crackling flames spin into the night.
Then she cried out and came for a third time. For a long minute, the only sensation that registered was that of intense heat reaching into every corner of her body, and she sighed. When she blinked and opened her eyes, her hips were back on the mattress. Connor was cradling her body, stroking her breasts, murmuring something in low, sweet tones.
She tipped her head back and let out a crazy laugh that made him look up.
“You don’t have to worry about not living up to expectations,” she explained, patting him with the little coordination she had.
He kissed her belly. “Good thing.”
She panted for another long minute, feeling like jelly. Almost purring like a cat cuddled in its master’s lap.
Which was a little scary, because as much as she trusted Connor, she didn’t want a master. She wanted a partner. The real thing. So after a few controlled breaths, she sat up under him and nudged him back. Which was a tricky operation, because you didn’t move a body like Connor’s unless he decided to comply.
“My turn,” she whispered, motioning for him to lie down.
He tilted his head, and his eyes sparked enough to make her hold her breath. That was his dragon, staring back out at her, and she could practically hear the beast growl.
You want me to what?
Maybe dragons preferred maidens who lay back and let themselves be ravaged. And on many levels, that worked for her. But somehow, she knew it wasn’t enough. Connor, she figured, would agree to just about any ground rules. But the dragon peeking out from his eyes — he would take some taming, for sure.
“Lie back.” She patted the bed, practically cooing. You can trust me.
His eyes flared. I trust no one, she imagined the dragon grumbling.
That message rang all too true. Did his dragon even trust itself?
“Trust me,” she murmured. “I’ll make this good.”
Slowly, gradually, Connor leaned back. For a while, his abs bunched at his centerline, refusing to relax. But eventually, his lower back settled on the mattress, followed by his shoulders. He held his head up, though, watching her.
“Seems only fair, you know.” She trailed a hand across his stomach. “You taste me…”
His eyes were twin flames.
“…I taste you.”
She popped the button of his pants and slid the zipper down slowly. Then she stopped and palmed every long, hot inch of him through the material.
“Need a little help, though,” she admitted once she got down to ridding him of those clothes.
Connor looked serious — dead serious — and she wondered if he’d ever let a woman call the shots before.
“Trust me,” she whispered one more time.
He nodded slowly and helped her get his pants and boxers off. Then he settled back, watching her like a tiger. Or a dragon, she supposed. A vigilant dragon, ready to jump in and wrestle back control.
She cleared her throat. Yeah, well. Even a mere human could teach a dragon a thing or two.
She straddled him and dragged her body up and down his until his eyes glassed over. Then she covered his mouth with slobbery kisses that hinted at what she had in store. Her hips started rocking, and with his hands nudging, it would have been so, so easy to discard her plan and sink down on his cock there and then. To roll over and hand the reins to him, letting their bodies connect at last. But she fought off the urge and followed the thin line of hair down his centerline instead. Down his chest, down his belly. She circled his navel a few times while shifting her legs into the right place. Then she reared up on her knees and swept her hair back.
Connor’s eyes blazed. He didn’t move a muscle, though a tic started up in his cheek. His dragon was close to its limits, she sensed. So she rubbed her lips together and leaned down before the beast could seize control. She didn’t want him pushing her head down or guiding her in. She wanted to show him exactly what she could do.
So she did, starting with a long, lollipop lick that started at the base of his thick shaft and traveled slowly to the straining tip. She fluttered a few kisses over him there and blew lightly, making him shake. Then she went back to licking, up, down, and around
. Again and again, until she couldn’t tell whether the hungry moans in her ears were his or hers.
Connor sank back into the mattress, weaving his fingers through her hair, letting her set the pace. A pace that grew faster and hungrier with every second that ticked by, because he tasted that good. Her senses filled with him — sight, smell, taste, touch — until she was bobbing up and down, taking him deeper every time.
When she gulped a quick breath of air, she caught the haggard sound of Connor’s breath. He was close to coming, and part of her wanted to take him that far. But another part wanted him to come inside her — deep inside her — their first time.
So after two more mind-blowing sucks, she released him with an audible pop. Connor moaned, every muscle coiled tight. In an instant, she crawled up his body and plunged her tongue into his mouth, sharing the taste with him. Their tongues tangled, and his hands gripped her ass.
She pulled back to look into his eyes, and for the space of three hammering heartbeats, they paused.
“Jenna,” he growled, reaching for her.
They rolled, and he thrust inside her with one smooth, hard stroke.
No condom. No barriers. Which was reckless, but at that moment, she couldn’t think straight. She moaned, arching her body. Connor withdrew and immediately thrust deeper. He repeated the action again and again, moving her body up the mattress in strong, deliberate strokes. His face was a mask of concentration, and he didn’t utter a word. He didn’t have to because his hands said it all, stroking hers softly while keeping them pinned over her head. She tightened her legs around his waist, urging him deeper. Arching higher and higher while he delivered everything she’d ever wanted and more.
“Yes…”
Her body wound painfully tight, and his next hard thrust pushed her over the edge. She cried out, exploding with pleasure, seeing only a blur.
With another hard pump of the hips, Connor bottomed out and groaned. He threw his head back, showing his teeth, and exploded inside her.
Flying. She was flying. Her eyelids fluttered. Was this what a dragon felt when it launched off a cliff? This sweet rush, the thrill?